New Life (song)

For the song by Blind Melon, see Soup (Blind Melon album).

1981 single by Depeche Mode

"New Life"

Single by Depeche Mode
from the album  Speak & Spell
B-side| "Shout!"
Released| 5 June 1981
Recorded| May 1981
Studio| Blackwing (London)
Genre| Synth-pop[1][2]
Length|

* 3:43 (album version)
* 3:58 (12″ remix)

Label| Mute
Songwriter(s)| Vince Clarke
Producer(s)|

* Depeche Mode
* Daniel Miller

Depeche Mode singles chronology
| "Dreaming of Me"
(1981)  | "New Life"
(1981)  | "Just Can't Get Enough"
(1981)

|
|

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
AllMusic| [3]

"New Life" is the second single by English electronic music band Depeche Mode from their debut studio album Speak & Spell, originally released on 5 June 1981.[4] It was not commercially released in the United States.

## Background

[edit]

Vince Clarke wrote the song.[5] There were two versions of the song available. The 7″ version would later become the "album version", as it would eventually appear on the UK version of Speak & Spell, released in October 1981, and a 12″ "remix", which differs from the album version, in that it has a different intro, intensely percussive and harder, and an added synth part in the "solo" vocal section in the middle of the song, which is not present on the 7″ mix. The "remix" would later appear on the US version of Speak & Spell.

The single became Depeche Mode's breakthrough hit in the UK, peaking at #11.[6][7] On 25 June 1981, the band performed "New Life" during their debut on the BBC's Top of the Pops. The band would perform the song twice more on the show, on 16 July and 30 July 1981.

The B-side, "Shout!", is the first Depeche Mode song to get a 12″ extended remix, called the "Rio mix". This mix would later appear on the remix compilation Remixes 81–04, released in 2004. It is the earliest recorded song available on the compilation.

## Track listing

[edit]

All tracks written by Vince Clarke

7″: Mute / 7Mute14 (UK)

1. "New Life" – 3:43
2. "Shout!" – 3:44

12″: Mute / 12Mute14 (UK)

1. "New Life" (remix) – 3:58
2. "Shout!" (Rio mix) – 7:31

* Re-released in 2018 as a part of the Speak & Spell: The 12″ Singles box set

CD: Mute / Intercord / CDMute14 / INT 826.800 (West Germany) – released in 1988

1. "New Life" (remix) – 3:58
2. "Shout!" (Rio mix) – 7:31
3. "New Life" (7″ version) – 3:43

CD: Mute / CDMute14 (UK) – released in 1991

1. "New Life" (remix) – 3:58
2. "Shout!" – 3:44
3. "Shout!" (Rio mix) – 7:31

CD: Sire / 40290-2 (US) – released in 1991

1. "New Life" (remix) – 3:58
2. "Shout!" – 3:44
3. "Shout!" (Rio mix) – 7:31

## Charts

[edit]

Weekly chart performance for "New Life"  Chart (1981)  | Peak
position

|

Ireland (IRMA)[8] | 22
UK Singles (OCC)[9] | 11
UK Indie (MRIB)[10] | 1
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[11]
with "Shout!" | 29

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Freeman, John (4 March 2011). "A Question of Lust: Depeche Mode's Black Celebration Revisited". The Quietus. Retrieved 27 August 2015.
2. ^ Bradley, Larry (4 November 2014). "The 1980s: Depeche Mode - "New Life". The Alternative Jukebox. Cassell. p. 132\. ISBN 978-1-84403-789-6.
3. ^ Raggett, Ned. "New Life – Depeche Mode". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2023.
4. ^ "Music week" (PDF). p. 22.
5. ^ Music, BBC Radio 6 (13 October 2014). BBC Radio 6 Music's Alternative Jukebox: 500 Extraordinary Tracks That Tell the Story of Alternative Music. Octopus. p. 130\. ISBN 978-1-84403-814-5. Retrieved 29 May 2021.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
6. ^ Bernhardt, Tonia (21 November 2007). Depeche Mode: A Band, Its Music, and the Cult. GRIN Verlag. p. 3\. ISBN 978-3-638-76757-6. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
7. ^ Christopher, Michael (28 December 2020). Depeche Mode FAQ: All That's Left to Know About the World's Finest Synth-Pop Band. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 5\. ISBN 978-1-4930-5400-8. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
8. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Depeche Mode". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
9. ^ "Depeche Mode: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
10. ^ Lazell, Barry (1997). "Depeche Mode". Indie Hits 1980–1989: The Complete U.K. Independent Charts (Singles & Albums). Cherry Red Books. ISBN 0-95172-069-4. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2022.
11. ^ "Depeche Mode Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 May 2022.

## External links

[edit]

* Single information from the official Depeche Mode website

* v
* t
* e

Depeche Mode

* Martin Gore
* Dave Gahan

* Andy Fletcher
* Vince Clarke
* Alan Wilder

Studio albums|

* Speak & Spell
* A Broken Frame
* Construction Time Again
* Some Great Reward
* Black Celebration
* Music for the Masses
* Violator
* Songs of Faith and Devotion
* Ultra
* Exciter
* Playing the Angel
* Sounds of the Universe
* Delta Machine
* Spirit
* Memento Mori

Live albums|

* 101
* Songs of Faith and Devotion Live
* Recording the Angel
* Recording the Universe

Compilation albums|

* People Are People
* The Singles 81→85
* Catching Up with Depeche Mode
* Greatest Hits
* The Singles 86–98
* Remixes 81–04
* The Best of Depeche Mode Volume 1
* Remixes 2: 81–11

Singles|

| 1980s|

* "Dreaming of Me"
* "New Life"
* "Just Can't Get Enough"
* "See You"
* "The Meaning of Love"
* "Leave in Silence"
* "Get the Balance Right!"
* "Everything Counts"
* "Love, in Itself"
* "People Are People"
* "Master and Servant"
* "Blasphemous Rumours" / "Somebody"
* "Shake the Disease"
* "It's Called a Heart"
* "Stripped"
* "A Question of Lust"
* "A Question of Time"
* "Strangelove"
* "Never Let Me Down Again"
* "Behind the Wheel"
* "Little 15"
* "Personal Jesus"

|

1990s|

* "Enjoy the Silence"
* "Policy of Truth"
* "World in My Eyes"
* "I Feel You"
* "Walking in My Shoes"
* "Condemnation"
* "In Your Room"
* "Barrel of a Gun"
* "It's No Good"
* "Home"
* "Useless"
* "Only When I Lose Myself"

2000s|

* "Dream On"
* "I Feel Loved"
* "Freelove"
* "Goodnight Lovers"
* "Enjoy the Silence 04"
* "Precious"
* "A Pain That I'm Used To"
* "Suffer Well"
* "John the Revelator" / "Lilian"
* "Martyr"
* "Wrong"
* "Peace"
* "Fragile Tension" / "Hole to Feed"

2010s|

* "Personal Jesus 2011"
* "Heaven"
* "Soothe My Soul"
* "Should Be Higher"
* "Where's the Revolution"
* "Going Backwards"
* "Cover Me"

2020s|

* "Ghosts Again"
* "My Cosmos Is Mine"
* "Wagging Tongue"
* "Speak to Me"
* "My Favourite Stranger"
* "Before We Drown"
* "People Are Good"

Video albums|

* The World We Live In and Live in Hamburg
* Some Great Videos
* Strange
* 101
* Strange Too
* Devotional
* The Videos 86–98
* One Night in Paris
* Touring the Angel: Live in Milan
* The Best of Videos Volume 1
* Tour of the Universe: Barcelona 20/21.11.09
* Live in Berlin
* Video Singles Collection
* Spirits in the Forest

Tours|

* Black Celebration Tour
* World Violation Tour
* Devotional Tour
* Exotic Tour/Summer Tour '94
* Touring the Angel
* Tour of the Universe
* The Delta Machine Tour
* Global Spirit Tour
* Memento Mori World Tour

Tribute albums|

* I Sometimes Wish I Was Famous
* For the Masses
* A Broken Frame & An Extended Broken Frame by Marsheaux

Related|

| Articles and books|

* Discography
* Awards and nominations
* Peter Gordeno
* Depeche Mode by Anton Corbijn (book)

|

Bands|

* Yazoo
* The Assembly
* Erasure
* Recoil
* VCMG
* Soulsavers
* Strangelove: The Depeche Mode Experience

Albums|

* 1 + 2
* Hydrology
* Counterfeit EP
* Bloodline
* Unsound Methods
* Liquid
* Counterfeit²
* SubHuman
* Selected
* MG
* Paper Monsters
* Hourglass
* The Light the Dead See
* Angels & Ghosts
* The Third Chimpanzee
* Imposter

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz work
* MusicBrainz release group

|

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